Lars Løkke Rasmussen Explained

Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Office:Minister of Foreign Affairs
Primeminister:Mette Frederiksen
Term Start:15 December 2022
Predecessor:Jeppe Kofod
Office1:Leader of the Moderates
Term Start1:5 June 2022
Predecessor1:Party established
Office2:Prime Minister of Denmark
Monarch2:Margrethe II
Term Start2:28 June 2015
Term End2:27 June 2019
Predecessor2:Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Successor2:Mette Frederiksen
Monarch3:Margrethe II
Deputy3:Lene Espersen
Lars Barfoed
Term Start3:5 April 2009
Term End3:3 October 2011
Predecessor3:Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Successor3:Helle Thorning-Schmidt
Office7:Leader of Venstre
Term Start7:17 May 2009
Term End7:31 August 2019
Predecessor7:Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Successor7:Jakob Ellemann-Jensen
Office8:Minister of Finance
Primeminister8:Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Term Start8:23 November 2007
Term End8:7 April 2009
Predecessor8:Thor Pedersen
Successor8:Claus Hjort Frederiksen
Office9:Minister of the Interior and Health
Primeminister9:Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Term Start9:27 November 2001
Term End9:23 November 2007
Office10:Member of the Folketing
Term Start10:21 September 1994
Constituency10:Zealand (from 2015)
North Zealand (2007–2015)
Frederiksborg (1994–2007)
Birth Date:15 May 1964
Birth Place:Vejle, Denmark
Party:Moderates (2021–present)
Otherparty:Venstre (1980–2021)
Spouse:Sólrun Jákupsdóttir
Children:3, including Bergur Løkke Rasmussen
Alma Mater:University of Copenhagen

Lars Løkke Rasmussen (in Danish ˈlɑːs ˈløkə ˈʁɑsmusn̩/; born 15 May 1964) is a Danish politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022. He previously served as the 25th Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019. He was the leader of the liberal Venstre party from 2009 to 2019.

Rasmussen has been a member of the Folketing since 21 September 1994. He also served as County Mayor of Frederiksborg County from 1998 to 2001. Subsequently, he was the Interior and Health Minister from 27 November 2001 to 23 November 2007 as part of Anders Fogh Rasmussen's first and second cabinets, and then Minister of Finance from 23 November 2007 to April 2009 as part of Anders Fogh Rasmussen's third cabinet. On 5 April 2009, he succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen as Prime Minister following the latter's appointment as Secretary General of NATO.

In the 2011 general election, the government lost its parliamentary majority and Rasmussen tendered the government's resignation to Queen Margrethe II. He was succeeded by Helle Thorning-Schmidt of the Social Democrats on 3 October 2011. In the 2015 general election, the right-wing parties regained a majority in the Folketing. Rasmussen again became Prime Minister and formed his second cabinet in the same month. This cabinet was made up exclusively of Venstre members, but in November 2016 he was pressured to also include members of Liberal Alliance and Conservative People's Party, forming his third cabinet.

On 6 June 2019, he resigned from his position as prime minister after a general election, in which his government was defeated. However, he continued to lead a caretaker government until a new government was formed and sworn in. This was completed on 27 June 2019 and Rasmussen was succeeded as Prime Minister by Mette Frederiksen. He resigned as the chairman of Venstre in August 2019, and left the party in January 2021.[1] He subsequently formed the Moderates, which campaigned on ending bloc politics, and won 16 seats in the 2022 Danish general election.[2] [3]

Early life

Lars Løkke Rasmussen was born in Vejle to Jeppe Rasmussen and Lise Løkke Rasmussen.[4] His last name is Rasmussen, while Løkke is his middle name.[5]

He graduated from high school in 1983, and was the president of the youth branch of Venstre from 1986 to 1989. He graduated with a law degree (cand. jur) from the University of Copenhagen in 1992. From 1990 to 1995 he worked as a self-employed consultant.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen is married to Sólrun Løkke Rasmussen (née Sólrun Jákupsdóttir). Together they have three children.[6]

Political career

Venstres Ungdom chairmanship and Afghanistan mission

Lars Løkke Rasmussen served as chairman of the youth branch of Venstre from 1986 to 1989. One of his initiatives was to establish an alternative to Operation Dagsværk — an annual one day fundraising campaign by high school students collecting money for third world countries — since Operation Dagsværk at the time was spearheaded by members of the Danish Communist Youth.[7] Rasmussen's campaign was supported by the party youth branch, and raised 600,000 DKK which were spent on school equipment[7] in Soviet occupied Afghanistan. Lars Løkke Rasmussen led a Danish delegation to Afghanistan delivering the collected funds, and a photograph taken by photographer Jørn Stjerneklar shows him and two other delegation members disguised as Afghans. Another photo shows him holding an AK-47, while standing together with three Mujahideen.[8] The photos have generated a lot of media attention in Denmark, after the Danish participation in the war in Afghanistan and especially as Rasmussen moved up the rankings at Venstre.

County Mayor and deputy chairman of Venstre

Rasmussen was elected deputy chairman of Venstre in 1998, at the same time as Anders Fogh Rasmussen assumed the position as party leader after Uffe Ellemann-Jensen. In 1998, he was elected as county mayor of Frederiksborg County, a position he occupied until 2001, when he joined the first Fogh Rasmussen cabinet.

Minister of the Interior and Health

Lars Løkke Rasmussen served as Interior and Health Minister between 2001 and 2007 until he was appointed Minister of Finance in 2007. He was responsible for negotiating a 2002 agreement between Venstre, the Conservatives, the Social Democrats and the Danish People's Party giving patients in public hospitals the right to select a private hospital, provided that the public hospital had been unable to treat the patient within two months. In 2007, this time limit was lowered to one month. Since 2002, the government has awarded extra funds earmarked at reducing the waiting list at National Health Service hospitals, a grant sometimes referred to by the media as Løkkeposen[9] (A pun on 'lykkepose' the Danish word for a goodie bag). He also represented the government during negotiations regarding a reform of the system by which richer municipalities transfer part of their tax incomes to poorer municipalities.

Municipal reform of 2007

As Minister of the Interior and Health, Lars Løkke Rasmussen spearheaded the municipal reform that reduced Denmark's 271 municipalities to 98, and abolished the 14 counties and replaced them with five regions.[10]

Minister of Finance

After then Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen won his second reelection in 2007 he created his third cabinet in which Lars Løkke Rasmussen was appointed Minister of Finance. This was seen as a clear indicator that Rasmussen was next in line to follow Fogh as leader of Venstre and Prime Minister, when Fogh would leave Danish politics.[11] As Finance Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen led the negotiations concerning funds to banks hit by the global financial crisis.

Tax reform of 2009

In February 2009, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was the chief negotiator in the political agreement behind a major tax reform, implementing the government's ambition of reducing income tax and increasing taxes on pollution.[12] The reform was, according to Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the biggest reduction of the marginal tax rate since the introduction of the income tax in 1903.[13] The opposition accused it of being historically skewed in favouring those with high-income jobs and giving very little to those with low-income jobs.

Prime Minister of Denmark

On 4 April 2009, NATO decided that Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen would replace Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as Secretary General of NATO.[14] On the same day, Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared that he would resign as Prime Minister on 5 April 2009. As deputy of the largest party in the government, Lars Løkke Rasmussen thus took over the post as Prime Minister of Denmark.[15] An opinion poll released on the day of Lars Løkke Rasmussen's takeover revealed that Danes believed that he only beat Helle Thorning-Schmidt as the person best suited for bringing Denmark through the financial crisis, and that Thorning-Schmidt would have been better suited to combatting unemployment, reducing hospital waiting lists, securing the welfare society of the future, and representing Denmark internationally.[16] On 7 April 2009, Lars Løkke Rasmussen announced the new set of ministers in his Cabinet.[17]

COP15 - December 2009

Lars Løkke Rasmussen has been sharply criticized from many sides for his handling of the COP15 leadership.

At the first meeting of the summit high level section, led by Lars Løkke Rasmussen, a number of countries protested the Danish handling of the negotiations. ”We cannot continue to talk about procedure. We must move forward. The World awaits us”, said Lars Løkke Rasmussen responding to criticism of the Danish led negotiations coming from several countries who regarded them as undemocratic.[18]

Many developing countries viewed this statement as arrogant. Procedure is a major element in UN negotiations.[19] ”This is not about procedure. This is about content. We have stated that the results in Copenhagen must come in two texts. One cannot simply present a text pulled from the clouds”, replied the Chinese delegate in the auditorium.[18]

Stanislaus Lumumba Di-Aping, chief negotiator for the Developing Nations' organisation G77, cross examined what exactly Rasmussen meant when stating that the chairmen of the negotiating groups should be "people whom we trust".[19] Criticism of the Office of the Prime Minister was supported by China, India and Brazil. The last had been regarded as an ally by the Danish delegation.[19]

The international press, too, has been severe in its criticism of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office. The BBC's climate correspondent stated: "According to all my sources, the Prime Minister's Office is on the verge of a melt-down. They have no modus operandi, or the diplomatic experience needed to plan one in advance. Ed Miliband, the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, was quoted for stating that "Denmark is doing a reasonable job".[19]

Budget cuts

In May 2010 Rasmussen's government announced major spending cuts and measures designed to increase revenues, notably to unemployment insurance (cut from a maximum of four years to two), foreign aid (cut from 0.83% of GDP to 0.76%), cuts to child support payments, and miscellaneous tax reforms designed to increase revenues.[20] The cuts were designed to save the government 24 billion DKK.

2011 election

Rasmussen led Venstre in the September 2011 parliamentary election. He sought to renew the mandate of the rightwing coalition that had been in power since 2001. Although his party gained a seat, the opposition parties combined obtained more seats than the parties supporting the incumbent government. On 16 September 2011, Rasmussen tendered the government's resignation to Queen Margrethe. He remained in office as head of a caretaker government until his successor, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, was appointed on 3 October 2011.

2015 election and return to government

Rasmussen led Venstre in the June 2015 general election. His Blue Bloc won a tight election in which his party came third overall, winning Rasmussen the ability to form a government.[21]

All members of Lars Løkke Rasmussen's second Cabinet, composed solely of members of Venstre, were sworn in on 28 June 2015 in the Danish Parliament.[22], his Cabinet consists of seventeen ministers.

In 2015, Rasmussen denied US Senator Bernie Sanders's characterization of Denmark as socialist, noting that the nation had a market economy.[23]

On 28 November 2016 Rasmussen presented Lars Løkke Rasmussen III Cabinet, composed of members of Venstre, Conservative People's Party and Liberal Alliance.

On 31 May 2018 it was announced that Denmark would be banning full-face veils.[24]

After premiership

2019 general election

Though Venstre made the largest gains of any party in the 2019 general election, support for the Danish People's Party and Liberal Alliance collapsed, costing Rasmussen his majority. With the result beyond doubt on election night, Rasmussen conceded defeat to the "red bloc" under the Social Democrats' Mette Frederiksen.[25] On 6 June 2019, he announced his resignation. On 31 August 2019, Rasmussen resigned from his position as the chairman of Venstre party following weeks of pressure from party members.[26]

Leader of the Moderates

In 2021 Rasmussen founded a new party, the Moderates.[27] In the 2022 Danish general election, the Moderates became the third largest party winning 16 seats.[28] Rasmussen himself received 38,439 personal votes.[29] Following lengthy government negotiations, he was appointed minister of foreign affairs in Mette Frederiksen's second cabinet.[30]

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In July 2024, he attended the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., where he met with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz. They discussed the threat posed by Iran.[31]

Controversies

Tax spending

Rasmussen has on several occasions been accused of spending tax payer money on himself and his family. In the spring of 2008, he was accused by the media - essentially the Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet - of having charged his official accounts with considerable expenses he should have paid himself, e.g. restaurants, cigarettes, taxis, and hotels, both as county mayor[32] and as minister. All of this has been well documented, according to several independent media sources, although all charges were dropped and there was never a court trial.[33] [34] It was something that was according to the rules of the party Venstre.[35] [36] In May 2007, Rasmussen was again accused by Ekstra Bladet of having his ministry pay for a hotel room in Copenhagen when he privately attended a Paul McCartney concert in Horsens in 2004.[37] [38] [39] Since the many serious scandals surrounding Rasmussen were brought to the attention of the public, Venstre has suffered in the polls.[40] [41] [42] [43] [44] [45] [46] [47] [48]

Global Green Growth

In 2013, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) was criticized by two member countries for its financial management: Norway withheld $10 million in donations, citing excessive spending on flights and food by GGGI former Council Chairman Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and both Norway and Denmark demanded an Audit of the organization's finances before renewing support for 2014. Rasmussen was, as the chairman, accused of being greedy, while the other members of GGGI were not accused.[49]

School pressure

In 2018, Rasmussen's wife Sólrun Løkke Rasmussen, facing termination from her job as a teacher, was called to a meeting with the head of the school where she worked. Rasmussen, as his wife's civil assessor, accompanied her to the meeting, along with his bodyguards. His wife was fired at the meeting. The case resulted in criticism as Rasmussen's presence, as then-Prime Minister, could be perceived as inappropriate pressure on the school leader; for meetings of this sort, it is usually the union representative that functions as the civil assessor.[50]

Little Danes Experiment

While Prime Minister, in response to calls from Greenland for a formal investigation into and an apology from the Danish government regarding the 1951 Little Danes Experiment, where Inuit children were stolen from their families to be "re-educated" into Danish culture, Rasmussen refused to make an apology. Instead, he said that: "History cannot be changed. The government regards the colonial period as a closed part of our shared history. We must be pleased with the fact that times have changed."[51] [52] Just as Rasmussen refused to apologise, so too did following prime ministers of Denmark, and Helle Thorning-Schmidt declined to participate in an investigation.[53] In 2019, two Greenlandic members of the Folketing made demands: Aaja Chemnitz Larsen (Inuit Ataqatigiit) demanded that an apology be made, and Ineqi Kielsen (Siumut) demanded that an investigating commission be made.[54] As a result of Kielsen's request, Rasmussen agreed with Greenlandic prime minister Kim Kielsen to create a commission, though he again refused to make an apology.[55]

Personal life

His son Bergur Løkke Rasmussen has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2022.[56]

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

External links

|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-

Notes and References

  1. News: Leonhard . Anders . 1 January 2021 . Lars Løkke har meldt sig ud af Venstre . da . . 2 January 2021.
  2. Web site: Leonhard . Anders . Sinnbeck . Peter . 5 June 2021 . LIVE: Løkke løfter sløret for sit nye parti . www.bt.dk.
  3. Web site: 2022-11-01 . Danish election paves way for centrist government . 2022-11-25 . POLITICO . en-US.
  4. Web site: Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) . Folketinget . 10 November 2022.
  5. News: Lars Løkke smidt ud af hjemmeside . . 20 November 2005 . 10 November 2022.
  6. Web site: Lars Løkke Rasmussen forsømte familien - BILLED-BLADET. 24 December 2009. billedbladet.dk. 29 March 2018.
  7. News: . da . 25 February 2009 . 7 April 2009 . I Afghanistan med Lars Løkke Rasmussen . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090226194730/http://politiken.dk/debat/kroniker/article656137.ece . 26 February 2009 .
  8. News: . da . 22 November 2008 . 20 May 2009 . Da mujahedinerne var helte .
  9. News: . da . 16 November 2006 . 13 May 2009 . Løkkeposen på vej ud på sygehusene .
  10. News: . da . 24 March 2009 . 4 April 2009 . Regeringens populistiske narreværk . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090327134925/http://politiken.dk/debat/kroniker/article674628.ece . 27 March 2009 .
  11. News: . da . 23 November 2007 . 13 May 2009 . Arvefølgen i Venstre på plads . https://web.archive.org/web/20081007141151/http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20071123/politik/111221379/ . 7 October 2008 . dead .
  12. News: . da . 1 March 2009 . 4 April 2009 . Nu er skattereformen på plads.
  13. News: . da . 1 March 2009 . 4 April 2009 . Direktøren får 53.409 kr. – hjemmehjælper 2.779 kr. . https://web.archive.org/web/20090410034413/http://jp.dk/indland/indland_politik/article1618813.ece . 10 April 2009 . dead .
  14. News: . da . 4 April 2009 . 4 April 2009 . Fogh bliver ny Nato-chef.
  15. News: . da . 4 April 2009 . 4 April 2009 . Løkke tager over i morgen . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090407074958/http://politiken.dk/politik/article684491.ece . 7 April 2009 .
  16. News: . da . 5 April 2009 . 5 April 2009 . Løkke slår kun Thorning på et punkt . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090408031818/http://politiken.dk/politik/article684604.ece . 8 April 2009 .
  17. News: . da . 7 April 2009 . 7 April 2009 . Løkke sætter sit første ministerhold . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090408031412/http://politiken.dk/politik/article685809.ece . 8 April 2009 .
  18. Web site: Marie Hjortdal . Løkke får klimadebut i modvind . da . Politiken.dk . 19 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091219130841/http://politiken.dk/klima/klimapolitik/article861338.ece . 19 December 2009 . dead .
  19. Web site: Michael Rothenborg, Martin Aagaard og Ellen Ø. Andersen . Løkke har problemer med topmøde-formen . da . Politiken.dk . 19 December 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20091219230227/http://politiken.dk/klima/klimapolitik/article862988.ece . 19 December 2009 . dead .
  20. Web site: Marie Sæhl . Fakta: Sådan ser den endelige spareplan ud . . 25 May 2010 . 25 May 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100527204121/http://politiken.dk/politik/article979013.ece . 27 May 2010 . dead .
  21. News: Danish election: PM concedes defeat and resigns. Aisha. Gani. 18 June 2015. 29 March 2018. www.theguardian.com. The Guardian.
  22. Web site: Her er hele Lars Løkkes ministerhold . . 28 June 2015 . 28 June 2015.
  23. News: Yglesias . Matthew . Denmark's prime minister says Bernie Sanders is wrong to call his country socialist . 28 January 2020 . Vox . 31 October 2015 . en.
  24. Web site: Denmark passes law banning burqa and niqab. Staff and agencies. 31 May 2018. the Guardian.
  25. News: Denmark election: Social Democrats win as PM admits defeat. 6 June 2019. 6 June 2019.
  26. News: W . Christian . Lars Løkke Rasmussen steps down as head of Venstre – The Post . 31 August 2019 . cphpost.dk . 31 August 2019.
  27. Web site: 2021-06-05 . Lars Løkke: Mit nye parti skal hedde Moderaterne . 2022-11-02 . Politiken . da-DK.
  28. Web site: Valgresultater 2022 - Mandatfordeling & Personlige stemmer DR . 2022-11-02 . www.dr.dk . da-dk.
  29. Web site: Hvem er valgt? Se valgte kandidater og personlige stemmer DR . 2022-11-02 . www.dr.dk . da-dk.
  30. Web site: Bohr . Jakob Kjøgx . 2022-12-15 . Her er SVM-regeringens ministre - TV 2 . 2022-12-15 . nyheder.tv2.dk . da-DK.
  31. News: Katz warns against Iran, China at NATO summit . The Jerusalem Post . 10 July 2024.
  32. Web site: Fakta: Her er Løkkes tre sager om pengeforbrug og bilag. 16 May 2014. politiken.dk. 29 March 2018.
  33. Web site: Fakta: Her er Løkkes bilagssager. Børsen. Fakta. 2 June 2014. borsen.dk. 29 March 2018.
  34. Web site: Venstre i panik: Sender bilagsbrev til medlemmerne. ekstrabladet.dk. 16 May 2014.
  35. News: . da . 23 May 2003 . 4 April 2009 . Amtsrådspolitikere vil undersøge Løkkes bilagsrod.
  36. News: . da . 22 May 2003 . 4 April 2009 . Lars Løkke på flere hotelbesøg . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110606160755/http://politiken.dk/politik/article512183.ece . 6 June 2011 .
  37. News: . da . 20 May 2009 . Løkke tog på betalt hotel efter koncert.
  38. News: . da . 20 May 2008 . Ministerium fik hotelregning efter koncert.
  39. News: . da . 20 May 2008 . Løkke på hotel efter rockkoncert . 4 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080528054601/http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/politik/article.php/id-11652504.html . 28 May 2008 . dead .
  40. Web site: Løkke tog på betalt hotel efter koncert – Politiken.dk. politiken.dk. 29 March 2018.
  41. Web site: Ministerium fik hotelregning efter koncert. dr.dk. 20 May 2008. 29 March 2018.
  42. Web site: Løkke på hotel efter rockkoncert - TV 2. 20 May 2008. nyheder.tv2.dk.
  43. Web site: Løkke på hotel under navnet Jensen. ekstrabladet.dk. 8 May 2008. 29 March 2018.
  44. News: Jacob Friberg . Overblik: Her er alle Lars Løkkes møgsager . . 19 May 2014 .
  45. News: Morten Henriksen, Michael Elsborg og Anja Westphal . Venstre-bagland i hård kritik af Løkke: Nok må være nok . . 13 May 2014 .
  46. News: Kenneth Lund . Eksperter har læst GGGI-rapport: Det ligner korruption . . 21 November 2013 .
  47. News: Sune Gudmundsson . GGGI ramt af ny mistanke om korruption . . 22 October 2013 .
  48. Web site: Venstre paid 152,000 kroner for Lars Løkke's suits - News - the Copenhagen Post . 9 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141209220814/http://cphpost.dk/news/venstre-paid-152-000-kroner-for-lars-loekkes-suits.9541.html . 9 December 2014 .
  49. Web site: Norway freezes aid to South Korean climate group. Associated Press. 16 July 2014.
  50. Web site: Janus Østergaard. Per Mathiessen. Løkke troppede op på rektors kontor: Sólrun fyret. Løkke showed up at rectors office: Sólrun fired. Ekstra Bladet. 24 April 2018. 26 June 2019.
  51. Book: Colonialism in Greenland: tradition, governance and legacy . 2017 . Springer Berlin Heidelberg . 978-3-319-46157-1 . New York, NY.
  52. Web site: Finnsson . Luna . 2009-08-14 . Greenland demands apology for Danish child experiments IceNews - Daily News . 2024-07-03 . en-US.
  53. Web site: Nonbo Andersen . Astrid . Et ambivalent opgør .
  54. Book: Residential Schools and Indigenous Peoples: From Genocide via Education to the Possibilities for Processes of Truth, Restitution, Reconciliation, and Reclamation . 2019-10-08 . Routledge . 978-0-429-46304-4 . Minton . Stephen James . 1 . en . 10.4324/9780429463044-5.
  55. Book: Nonbo Andersen, Astrid . "The Greenland Reconciliation Commission: Moving away from a legal framework" . 2020 . The yearbook of polar law . Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV. . 9789004418745 . Alfredsson . Gudmundur . Koivurova . Timo.
  56. Web site: Løkkes søn skifter til Moderaterne Nyheder . 2023-03-13 . tv2.dk . 13 March 2023 . da-DK.
  57. Web site: Nordjyske.dk. Lars wearing the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Crown (Belgium). 12 August 2018.
  58. Web site: Seoghoer.dk. Lars wearing the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Falcon. 12 August 2018.
  59. Web site: Ekstrabladet.dk. Lars wearing the Order of the Dannebrog, Order of the Phoenix (Greece) and the Order of Diplomatic Service. 12 August 2018.
  60. Web site: Dr.dk. Lars wearing the Order of the Dannebrog, Order of Diplomatic Service and the Order of the Phoenix (Greece). 12 August 2018.
  61. Web site: Ekstrabladet.dk. Lars wearing the Order of the Dannebrog and the Order of the Phoenix (Greece). 12 August 2018.